Bean Bag use

[booker227]

We use five men crews for varsity where I am an official. I am aware of what the federation wants, but with my crew of geezers, it works better. This doesn't happen on every play. but those where the side offical is forced by circumstance across the sidelines. My favorite offical, God bless his soul, with more than thirty years of experience and countless play off games, while working the wings would simply hold up the number of fingers corresponding with his receivers. Simple, but effective. I am still (hope) quick enough and experienced enough to move where I need to be to cover.

[a4caster]

Our 5-man has a different reasoning behind the OOB Bag: You are moving up the sideline and the player steps out. NOT AS A DEFINATE, but as an assistance, we bag the spot so that we keep our head up and watch the afterplay activity. This keeps our attention off the ground and at player level. As for retreiving the ball, if it goes out past the team, either the ball boy goes for it (he's excellent at that, we bring our own) or the BJ swoops in and cleans up. This keeps the wings on task for the proper spot.

[Jim D]

A4caster - OK, your the HL. The runner sweeps around end and is pushed out of bounds near the line to gain. Are you using the bag or your foot to mark the spot? My point is that if you use the bag, it can be kicked or moved by players. If you use your foot, then throwing the bag gives you two spots and a possible argument with the coach. There is no reason to throw a bag here and it just can cause problems. Mark the out of bounds spot with your foot, continue to officiate and let the BJ or ball boy retreive the ball.

[Forksref]

Originally posted by dogleg
Are the Linesmen and LJ's suppose to drop the bean bag to get the ball or do they stand still and have the Umpire get it on sweeps outside of the inbound lines?

As a white hat, I follow the ball and will retrieve it while the wing keeps the spot. On long passes, I am not in that area because I am back protecting the QB. Your R should get the ball on most of the plays outside the hash.

[MJT]

What is your BJ doing? Ours is getting the ball, or part of the triangle on almost all plays outside the hash, and especially if it close to the sideline or OOB's. We drop a bag and go IF the players go OOB's and the BJ is not there to get in the mix yet. We will escort the "nonbench" team members out of the bench area to ensure their safety.

[grantsrc]

Originally posted by Forksref
As a white hat, I follow the ball and will retrieve it while the wing keeps the spot. On long passes, I am not in that area because I am back protecting the QB. Your R should get the ball on most of the plays outside the hash.

Here in MO, they don't want the R touching the ball at all. I think they feel that he has enough to worry about. They want the back judge coming in to help out.

In my opinion, most back judges don't move enough. Some barely even think about coming towards the LOS. Not all mind you, some.

At times though, I feel that the R can triangle the ball in easier that the BJ because he will theoretically have fewer players in his way.

[Forksref]

Originally posted by grantsrc

Here in MO, they don't want the R touching the ball at all. I think they feel that he has enough to worry about. They want the back judge coming in to help out.

In my opinion, most back judges don't move enough. Some barely even think about coming towards the LOS. Not all mind you, some.

At times though, I feel that the R can triangle the ball in easier that the BJ because he will theoretically have fewer players in his way.

Our BJ is part of the triangle, relaying the ball to the U. On passes, the BJ is more likely to retrieve the ball. We've had 4 guys touch the ball after some plays, depending on the play. I don't like letting the ball sit there waiting for someone else to pick it up while I am close to it. I like to be active. As long as I am following the ball, I might as well help relay the ball. On most sideline plays, I am not retreiving, but relaying the ball to the U. This is more than theory.

[grantsrc]

Originally posted by Forksref
On passes, the BJ is more likely to retrieve the ball. We've had 4 guys touch the ball after some plays, depending on the play. I don't like letting the ball sit there waiting for someone else to pick it up while I am close to it. I like to be active. As long as I am following the ball, I might as well help relay the ball. On most sideline plays, I am not retreiving, but relaying the ball to the U. This is more than theory.

Why have the BJ chase the ball on incomplete passes? Have the LJ (or HL depending on your area's preference- we run both ball boys off the same sideline, home sideline) get a new ball in to the U. If it is incomplete, the Bj can get the old ball, relay it to the sidelines, all while the ball is getting ready.

[Forksref]

Originally posted by grantsrc

Why have the BJ chase the ball on incomplete passes? Have the LJ (or HL depending on your area's preference- we run both ball boys off the same sideline, home sideline) get a new ball in to the U. If it is incomplete, the Bj can get the old ball, relay it to the sidelines, all while the ball is getting ready.

We exchange balls only on change of possession. So we are always getting the ball back to the previous spot or new spot at the hash. If the ball is in the middle of the field, the BJ is more likely to get it since he is closer to the play. On complete passes or long runs, the BJ is involved in retreiving the ball.

[grantsrc]

Originally posted by Forksref
We exchange balls only on change of possession. So we are always getting the ball back to the previous spot or new spot at the hash. If the ball is in the middle of the field, the BJ is more likely to get it since he is closer to the play. On complete passes or long runs, the BJ is involved in retreiving the ball.

Why? (I'm not trying to be a jerk or anything here. I'm just trying to figure out your thought process)

If you have a long incomplete pass, why not have the LJ or HL get a new ball from the team in possession, relay it in to the umpire, mark it at the previous spot, and get the game going again. All the while, the BJ is tracking down the ball or someone on the sidelines for that matter. Send a ball boy to get it. We are not getting a ball from the other team, we are simply using another ball from the offense.

What about a play dead in the sidezone? Since both ball boys are on my side of the field, if I have a play dead in my sidezone, I spot the ball at my feet, and get a new ball in, kind of like the NFL or NCAA.

Now, if you have an incomplete pass and it falls at the feet of an official then we usually use that ball. But otherwise, if I am understanding your system, it sounds like your BJ is doing a heck of a lot of extra running and losing time while doing it.